1851

Jonah Hex is sold by his father to the Apache tribe in the Black Hills. [per JONAH HEX #8]

1853

Jonah Hex saves the Indian chief from a puma, and becomes a tribal step-son. [per JONAH HEX #8]

1854

Jonah Hex is betrayed by the chief's son Non-Tante during a tribal horse theft and left for dead. Hex is saved by a mountain man, restored to health, and sets out to take his revenge on Non-Tante. [per JONAH HEX #8]

Hex finds the Apache have been driven out of the Black Hills, forced to walk the “Trail of Tears”. [per JONAH HEX #8]

1855

Hex becomes a buffalo hunter and scouting ranger for the US Army. [per JONAH HEX #8]

1863

Lt. Jonah Hex surrenders to Union officials at Fort Charlotte. Hex is later balmed for the Fort Charlotte massacre. [WEIRD WESTERN TALES #29-30]

January 1: President Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation.

May 2-10: “Stonewall” Jackson accidentally shot by several of his own men, including Jonah Hex. (May 2nd) Dies. (May 10th)

November 19: Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.

1865

April 15: Lincoln shot by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre. (April 15) Superboy tries to prevent the assassination but encounters an adult Lex Luthor who unwittingly prevents him from action. [SUPERBOY #85]

1875

Jonah Hex snatched with other history heroes to battle the JLA. [JLA #159-160]

Jonah Hex flung into the 21st Century. [HEX #1]

The original Daily Planet Building is built. Note: This date of the supposed founding of the Daily Planet conflicts with other supposed founding dates of the newspaper, so it's likely the founding of another aspect, such as the building the newspaper resides in. Though it is also possible that the original building was replaced sometime in the 20th century. [“Superboy's First Public Appearance,” Superman #144 (April, 1961).]

1876

The Atom takes a Time Pool trip to discover why a prototype telephone created by Alexander Graham bell appears to be a phony. [DC SPECIAL SERIES #1]

Jonah Hex returns from the future to live out his days in the Wild West.

1878

The JLA meet heroes of the wild west due to actions of the Lord Of Time.[JLA #198 -199]

1895

20th Century

1904

Jonah Hex was killed in 1904 at the age of 68 by George Barrow. Lew Wheeler, owner of a Wild West revue, then shot Barrow and stole Hex's corpse, treated it at a taxidermist, and put it on exhibit in his revue. The corpse was last seen in the Westworld Amusement Park on the outskirts of New York City in 1972. [DC SPECIAL SERIES #16]

1905

1906

George Taylor, future editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, is born in Star City.

1911

Count Gregori Arcane born.

1913

Jor-El (father of Jor-El and grandfather of Kal-El – Superman) travels from Krypton to Earth, where he saves a logger named Jeremy Bird from a tribe of angry Sioux warriors, then builds a canal to ensure the loggers don't anger the Sioux any longer. He then returns to his family on Krypton. [“The Superman of Yesterday,” Superman #103]

1915

Anton Arcane expelled from Hamburg School of Medicine.

1916

March 12: Perry White, future editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, is born in Chicago.

1920

January 3: James W. Gordon born.

1926

Travis Morgan born.

1927

Rick Flag is born.

1929

1930

Cory Renwald, future foster son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, is born. Growing up without parents, he becomes a juvenile delinquent by the time he reaches his teenage years. [“Zero Hour for the Kents,” The New Adventures of Superboy #19 (July, 1981)]

1931

Adam Blake, first man of the future, is born to John and Martha Blake on the day a new comet streaks through the sky. Adam is named after his grandfather, Adam Blake. [“The Origin of Captain Comet,” Strange Adventures #9 (June, 1951).]

On the same day, another mutant whose name is unknown is born; 50 years later he will take the name of Starstriker and attempt to seize Adam Blake's powers. [“Plight of the Human Comet,” DC Comics Presents #22 (June, 1980)]

1933

1934

March 27: On the planet Daxam, Lar Gand is born. Note: Lar Gand later becomes more famously known as Mon-El when he is mistaken as an older brother of Kal-El (Superboy) in 1963, when Lar Gand is physically 18 years old. But chronologically he was actually 29 years old, since he had spent 11 years in suspended animation as his rocket ship traveled from Krypton, where he visited Jor-El and Lara, to Earth.

1935

At 4 years of age, young Adam Blake begins to show signs of psychic abilities when he locates his mother's wedding ring through sheer instinct. [“The Origin of Captain Comet,” Strange Adventures #9 (June, 1951).]

1937

Superboy time travels from the year 1958 to help the 21-year-old Perry White get a job as a cub reporter at the Daily Planet, whose managing editor at this time is Mr. Hobb. Perry's saving a scientist from a kidnapper also helps him land the cub reporter job. Note: Although time travel is not mentioned in this story as it is published, time travel is the only explanation for Perry being 21 years old in this story despite being decades older than Clark Kent. [“Perry White, Cub Reporter,” Adventure Comics #120; “The Toughest Newsboy in Town,” Action Comics #461 (July, 1976)]

A scientist named Dr. Harkovy departs Earth with his wife Joan and daughter Doriana in a rocket ship of his own design in an attempt to reach Mars. Instead, his ship crash-lands on the world of Thule in the asteroid belt, where he and his wife die, but his daughter Doriana survives and is raised by Afthors, the king of Thule. [“The World of Flying Men,” Strange Adventures #18 (March, 1952).]

1939

At age 8, Adam Blake displays the uncanny ability to read and memorize an entire school textbook in minutes. [“The Origin of Captain Comet,” Strange Adventures #9 (June, 1951).]

Germany and the Soviet Union invade Poland, beginning World War II.

September 9: After his brother and sister are killed by the Nazi ace Von Tepp, the man known as Blackhawk vows vengeance. Over the next few months, he forms an international group of seven pilots – Andre, Chop-Chop, Chuck, Hendrickson, Olaf, and Stanislaus – called the Blackhawks. A few other members, such as Zeg, Baker, and Boris, die in these early months. [Military Comics #1; Blackhawk #198]

1940

January, 1940

January 2: Jim Corrigan is born as James Brendan Corrigan.

May, 1940

The Blackhawks encounter the War Wheel. [Blackhawk #252]

June, 1940

The man known as the Unknown Soldier has first case. [Unknown Soldier #249]

August, 1940

The Blackhawks meet the first villainous Killer Shark. [Blackhawk #269]

1941

August, 1941

September, 1941

The adventures of Keen Arrow are first published by Kolossal Komics. Note: Keen Arrow is a fictional character who predated the real Earth-1 Green Arrow's first appearance by over 30 years, but whose adventures eerily paralleled those of the Earth-2 Green Arrow, who became active at this time on Earth-2 and whose first appearance was in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated November, 1941). Kolossal Komics also published the adventures of the Sunburned Kid and Showerman, who may or may not have been based on Earth-2 characters the Vigilante and Aquaman, whose counterparts appeared years later on Earth-1. [“Who Rubbed Out the Editor?” Detective Comics #70 (December, 1942)]

December, 1941

December 7: The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, resulting in the United States entering World War II.

1942

Unspecified month in 1942

Sgt. Rock and Easy Company start combat in World War II beginning in North Africa, followed by Italy (1943), France and Belgium (1944), and Germany (1945).

Jeb Stuart commands the Haunted Tank.

February, 1942

Captain X's last known case. [Star Spangled Comics #7]

April, 1942

The Boy Commandos have first public case. Note: This is the Earth-1 version of the Earth-2 team. [Detective Comics #64]

The Sentinels of Magic – Mac Maine; Harry “Hutch” Hutchinson AKA the Black Star; Hal King; Johnny Constantine; Dr. Harvard “Doc” Yale; Roland diGrasso AKA the Stainless Steel Cat; Number 99 – is formed, operating under the auspices of FDR. Note: Johnny Constantine is the grandfather of John Constantine, born to his son Thomas in 1953. [“Showcase: The Sentinels of Magic: Times Past, 1948: Sacrifices Must Be Made”]

1944

Unspecified month in 1944

Richard Benson retires as the Avenger.

February, 1944

February 2: Harvey Dent born to a prominent family.

May, 1944

Alfred Pennyworth, an officer in British Intelligence, serves with Mademoiselle Marie in her French Resistance cell for a time. The two quickly fall in love and have an affair, resulting in Marie becoming pregnant with Alfred's child. Unfortunately, soon after the two are separated by the war and never see each other again. [“The Man Who Killed Mlle. Marie,” Detective Comics #501 (April, 1981)]

June, 1944

June 6:

The Blackhawks' most important mission of the war during D-Day against a secret Nazi super-weapon. Note: This story incorrectly depicts the Blackhawks forming just before D-Day. In fact, they had been working as a team for over four years by this point. [Blackhawk #198]

Jimmy Olsen time-travels from the year 1977 to Europe after D-Day and masquerades as Private Von Olsen. He subsequently is promoted first to Captain and then to Adolf Hitler's Chief Military Adviser when he predicts the defeats of the Nazis. [Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #86]

James W. Gordon graduates from law school and decides to become a policeman, entering police academy during the next intake.

July, 1944

July 20: After an attempted assassination on Hitler's life by German officers (including the disguised Unknown Soldier), Jimmy Olsen is proven to be a spy and is returned to his own time of 1977 in a grenade explosion. [Star Spangled War Stories v2 #156; Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #86]

August, 1944

French Resistance leader Mademoiselle Marie is shot in the back by Roget, a member of her Resistance cell who is secretly a Nazi collaborator. Falling into the St. Joan River, she is rescued by sisters Giselle and Paulette, who discover she is pregnant. Although she physically recovers over the following months, Marie's mind never recovers from the shock, and she is unable to say anything except the name “Alfred,” whom Paulette wrongfully assumes to be Marie's attempted killer. [“Who Shot Mlle. Marie?” Detective Comics #502 (May, 1981)]

1945

Unspecified month in 1945

The Losers are killed in their final mission in Markovia. Note: Crisis #3 incorrectly places this story in June, 1944; in fact, it takes place in early spring, 1945. [“Oblivion Upon Us,” Crisis on Infinite Earths #3; “Losers Die Twice,” Losers Special #1]

The White School on the multi-dimensional island of Tourmaline is attacked and bombed by a group of former students turned Nazi mystics from Earth-X, members of the Thule Society who seek to use the Clock Tower to conquer parallel universes and other dimensions. To defend itself, the island disappears into the mystical dimension of Darkworld, causing the Nazi mystics to drown in the ocean. Most of the professors and students are saved, each returning to his or her world of origin and given partial amnesia about the island and the school. Among those students is 9-year-old Gareth Gallowglass. Former professor Henry Valdemir, who assisted the Nazi mystics in the plot to take the island and lost much of his mystical powers in the failed attempt, settles into his role as a U.S. Army major while slowly regaining his powers. [“The Brave and the Bold: Mary Marvel and Atom Blake: Magic and Demons and Ghouls, Oh My!”; “Showcase: The Sentinels of Magic: Times Past, 1948: Sacrifices Must Be Made”]

James W. Gordon graduates from police academy, a six-month program, and is hired as a patrolman for the Gotham City Police Department. On his first day on the job, his childhood friend jeweler Hank Weber is shot and killed during a robbery, and while Gordon pursues the killer Daryl Richmond into an unused subway tunnel and captures him, he fails to find the jewels that were stashed away. Note: This story is said to take place in 1945, or 35 years before the present. Although the present-day story takes place in 1983 according to the compressed timeline, the specified date of 1945 is firm and takes precedence. [“A Tale of Time Past,” Batman #328 (October, 1980)]

January, 1945

Julia, daughter of Mademoiselle Marie and Alfred Pennyworth, is born in France. Given to Resistance fighter Jacques Remarque to raise, she is known only as Julia Remarque for most of her life. Two days after Julie's birth, Marie disappears. Three weeks after Julie's birth, the disfigured body of a young woman is discovered in the St. Joan River, who is incorrectly assumed to be the body of Marie. [“Who Shot Mlle. Marie?” Detective Comics #502 (May, 1981)]

April, 1945

The Unknown Soldier supposedly dies after assassinating Adolf Hitler in his bunker.

August, 1945

U.S. planes drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II.

1947

Unspecified month in 1947

Jacques Remarque writes a letter to Alfred Pennyworth, now working under his father Jarvis Pennyworth as a servant for the Wayne family in Gotham City, informing him that Julia Remarque is his daughter. Afraid to disrupt the girl's life, Alfred asks Jacques to keep this a secret from Julia, and sends him money for the next thirty-five years to help raise Julia and ensure that she has a good education. [“Who Shot Mlle. Marie?” Detective Comics #502 (May, 1981)]

July, 1947

July 7: Johnny Thunder is born in the Bronx. A few months later, Johnny is kidnapped by agents of the high priest of Aissor and taken to the small island nation of Badhnisia in Asia, where he is raised for the first seven years of his life before he's taken back to his family when it's evident that he has not attained the power to conquer the world, and is thus useless to them. Note: This is the Earth-1 Johnny Thunder, who first appears in Justice League of America #37 and #38.

August, 1947

Jonathan and Martha Kent take in a 17-year-old juvenile delinquent named Cory Renwald as their foster son under a special foster guardian program at the Soames Reform School in Smallville. He remains with the couple for about a year, until he turns 18 years old. [“Zero Hour for the Kents,” The New Adventures of Superboy #19 (July, 1981)]

December, 1947

December 9: Oliver Queen is born in Star City. Note: We know Oliver Queen graduated in 1965, since his 20-year high school reunion was in 1985. We also know that Oliver was not too much older than Clark Kent, since he went to high school with him in Smallville for a brief time.

1948

Unspecified month in 1948

The modern nation of Israel is founded.

Cory Renwald, now 18, “graduates” as a reformed youth from a special foster guardian program meant to reform juvenile delinquents, and he leaves the care of Jonathan and Martha Kent in Smallville. Sometime later, Cory is recruited into the fledgling CIA and eventually poses as a Soviet defector. [“Zero Hour for the Kents,” The New Adventures of Superboy #19 (July, 1981)]

The multi-dimensional island of Tourmaline emerges into the physical realm from the Darkworld, appearing as a seemingly new island in the South Pacific simultaneously on Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, Earth-X, and Earth-4. The Sentinels of Magic are sent in by the U.S. Army to investigate the anomalous new island, called Grim Island, but they leave their mascot, 12-year-old Gary the Miracle Boy (Gareth Gallowglass) behind. Gary soon discovers that the commanding officer, Major Henry Valdemir, intends to not only let the Sentinels die on the island, but also have Gary killed according to plan. Gary confronts Major Valdemir, who reveals that he killed Gary's parents before he uses his own mystical abilities to gouge out Gary's left eye, while Valdemir himself has every bone in his body broken and is crippled for life by Gary's power. Battling demons that emerge from a pit leading from Hell, the Sentinels are each killed in their ultimately successful efforts to close the gate and prevent a giant demonic menace from reaching Earth. Gary reaches the island too late to help them. After informing the Sentinels' loved ones of their deaths, Gary relocates to Grim Island and builds a memorial park dedicated to the fallen Sentinels of Magic, eschewing his former nickname and from now on being known only as Gareth Gallowglass. Gareth uses his telekinetic abilities to keep everyone, including the U.S. military, off Grim Island for the next three years. [“Showcase: The Sentinels of Magic: Times Past, 1948: Sacrifices Must Be Made”; “Secret Origins: The Books of Magic: Times Past, 1951: Founding Fathers”]

1949

Unspecified month in 1949

Adam Blake, now 18, tries out for sports at college and becomes a champion football player, knowing where his opponents will strike before they move. [“The Origin of Captain Comet,” Strange Adventures #9 (June, 1951).]

Jonathan and Martha Kent take in a child named Tim Tates (Mighto of the planet Ulgar) as their foster son after his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. Hiram Tates (Yorth and Reena of Ulgar), appear to have drowned. They soon discover that little Tim has super-powers. [“The Kents' First Super-Son,” Superboy #108 (October, 1963).]

The Shadow retires from crime-fighting.

Doc Savage retires from adventuring.

January, 1949

January 29: Arthur Curry is born to Tom and Atlanna Curry.

February, 1949

February 5: Perry White is hired as a full-time reporter at the Daily Planet. Note: Previously, Perry was a cub reporter at the Chicago Journal in the mid-1930s, then a cub reporter at the Daily Planet as a cub reporter from 1937 to about 1938 or so, then as a full reporter at the Gotham Gazette until 1949, probably acting as a war correspondent from 1942-1945 for that paper. [“The Most Amazing Camera in the World,” Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #34 (January, 1959); “Clark Kent, Man of Mystery,” Superman #117 (November, 1957).]

March, 1949

March 19: Barry Allen is born to Dr. Henry and Nora Allen in Fallville, Iowa.

September, 1949

September 28: Alexis (Lex) Luthor is born. Note: Luthor turned 21 in 1970, according to Superman: The Secret Years #1.